Whatever it Takes
by munchkin4444
Summary: Annabeth becomes the unwilling victim of a group of men who decide to get revenge the only way they know how—through violence.
1. Working Too Hard

**Whatever it Takes**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters depicted from the TV show "Close to Home" **

**Summary: Not to sure where I'm going to end up with this one. Possible abduction by that guy in the episode where he was accused of raping the girl, but he was at the mall at the time. Now he wants his revenge. Maybe something like that. **

**Rating: As high as I can make it**

**Distribution: rather you not, though this show isn't really taking off with the fiction so I don't think I need to worry about it. **

**Chapter One**

"What the hell are you doing?" came a sleepy voice from the hall.

Annabeth looked guiltily up at her husband from the work she had spread across the kitchen table.

"I know, I know. I said I wouldn't do this anymore, but this case is so complicated. I just really need to work on it tonight," she pleaded with Jack.

"No, honey," Jack practically growled, "this is what the fifth time this month I have caught you up past one in the morning working on a 'really complicated case that I just have to get right.'" How long do you think you can do this for? Do you really think depriving yourself of sleep is going to help you focus on your cases?"

"Please, Jack. Just this once, I really need to get this done."

"No. You are coming back to bed with me even if it means I have to throw you over my shoulders and tie you to the bed to keep you there."

"In any other situation that would sound like fun," she grimaced.

"I'm not joking Annabeth, you're going to burn out."

Annabeth looked from her papers to her husband. She had seen that look of determination on his face only so many times and decided not to test his mood this early in the morning.

"Ok," she sighed, "I'll come back to bed; just let me put this stuff away."

"Uh-uh," he muttered, "I'm not falling for that one again."

He leaned over and picked her up bride groom style.

Her eyes widened and she wrapped her arms around his neck, "what are you doing?"

"Last time you told me you were just going to put your stuff away, I woke up an hour later and you were still working. Now, to bed."

He trudged down the hall with her in his arms. Had he not been so tired it wouldn't have been so hard to carry her slight form the short walk down the hall, but he was running on fumes. As gently as he could he settled her into their bed and followed behind her.

Sighing he wrapped his arms around her, "now this is better."

"Jack," she whispered.

"Mmm," he grunted in response.

"Love you."

Smiling slightly he kissed the back of her head, "Me too. Go to sleep, baby."


	2. Under Threath

**Whatever it Takes**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters depicted from the TV show "Close to Home" **

**Summary: Not to sure where I'm going to end up with this one. Possible abduction by that guy in the episode where he was accused of raping the girl, but he was at the mall at the time. Now he wants his revenge. Maybe something like that. **

**Rating: As high as I can make it**

**Warning: There is and there may be more swear words in my fiction starting this chapter. **

**Distribution: rather you not, though this show isn't really taking off with the fiction so I don't think I need to worry about it. **

**AN: I'm going to try to include a lot more of her husband in my fanfic, because he is REALLY cute  and I think they make an adorable couple. Also, I'm having spring break right now, but mostly I write fanfic during really low points during class. So, I don't know how fast chapters will come out or the quality of the chapters. For example, I feel motivated to write now b/c I just read a nice review—thanks—and my show "without a trace" was replaced by basketball and I'm feeling slightly annoyed. **

**Chapter Two **

She didn't notice him watching her from his mother's old '87 Chevy. But she would notice him soon enough. It had taken him a while to decide what to do. Over the years in jail, he had come to the realization that raping those girls was wrong. Yes, he had realized that.

And being back in the "civilized" world made him realize he would never survive that mistake. He would not be able to get a decent job. No one wanted him. His neighbors wanted to kill or hurt him. Nope, there was nothing for it now. He was a rapist. He had been labeled. And now no matter what he did for the rest of his life, he would forever be known as a rapist. He could cure cancer and people would still say, "Oh that's the guy that raped those two girls. Didn't he do something great for all mankind though?" Then another guy would say, "Yeah something big, but come on how good could it be, he raped two girls."

One mistake. One terrible drunk night that ruined his life forever.

He had tried to do the right thing. Keep a low profile. Don't get into trouble. Keep in touch with your parole officer. He followed all the rules. And what happened…

His "brand new, undented, not a hint of rust on it," car had been totaled. And the bitch had done nothing about it. Stood there looking down on me like was some sort of disgusting insect. Didn't even give that guy a slap on the wrist when he threatened him at GUNPOINT!

He had followed all the rules.

It didn't work.

So he was going to go back to his old rules. Only he'd be smarter about it this time.

"Yeah," he thought to himself, "Life was better back then anyway; a lot more free."

First he'd need to work on changing his appearance. Probably need to move into a new neighborhood without villagers carrying pitchforks. And get a car that didn't draw so much unwanted attention. He watched her finally make it to her building and go through the doors, past the security guards.

Bitch. If she wanted him to be a rapist, then he would be a rapist. He just needed to do his homework this time around.

Annabeth walked through the elevator doors and easily past the security guards blocking the hallway. She often thought to herself, "If some maniac wanted into this building and wanted to do some serious damage, then those two guards with their metal detectors won't be able to do much to stop them." But all in all, she was fairly sure that they were safe there. Yes, they put away some awful people who murdered and raped, but they didn't have much contact with extremely powerful gangs or serial killers. Not like those one's that show up on episodes of forensic shows. No, nothing like that happened in Indy.

"Annabeth!"

"Oh, sorry Maureen," Annabeth turned, surprised, "guess I was kind of drifting there."

"Don't worry about it," stated Maureen briskly. Annabeth smiled, always down to business with her. I really need to set her up with some one; it may help loosen her up. Or it could backfire and make her bitter. Have to think on it some more.

"Could you handle a drug arraignment this afternoon, for me, some last minute thing came up that I need to take care of?"

"Yeah, sure, just leave the case on my desk sometime before lunch and I'll take care of it. Is everything okay?" Annabeth replied, looking slightly concerned. Maureen never left work for anything.

"Oh yeah, don't worry," Maureen stated, waving her hand dismissively, "just something with my sister, not really sure what. But I want to make sure everything is, you know, okay. And the guy is clearly guilty, so hopefully all you'll need to do is make a deal when he pleads so."

"Sure, I understand. And don't worry I'll take care of it."

"Thanks," said Maureen, heading back into her office, "I owe you one."

Annabeth smiled jokingly while standing in Maureen's office doorway, "Ohhh, I like it when I'm owed favors."

Maureen smiled back good naturedly, "You're allowed a few."

Laughing Annabeth walked down the hall to her office.


	3. Dinner

**Whatever it Takes**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters depicted from the TV show "Close to Home" **

**Summary: Not to sure where I'm going to end up with this one. Possible abduction by that guy in the episode where he was accused of raping the girl, but he was at the mall at the time. Now he wants his revenge. Maybe something like that. **

**Rating: As high as I can make it**

**Warning: There is and there may be more swear words in my fiction starting this chapter oh and a hint of sex, but come on they are married and hot. **

**Distribution: rather you not, though this show isn't really taking off with the fiction so I don't think I need to worry about it. **

**AN: I'm writing this as kind of a therapy of sorts. I was so sad when Jack was killed on Friday. I'm not entirely sure why it hit me the way that it did. He wasn't shown a whole lot on the show and it was kind of obvious that he was going to be killed based on the preview alone. Maybe it's the way he was killed. I've had a couple of friends and family members die from car accidents, one of those involved a drunk driver. Or maybe it's just because Jennifer Finnigan did such an amazing job looking absolutely crushed and devastated and shocked. The shock that our beloved Annabeth is a single mother with a high priority job kind of baffles me. How is she going to be able to do all of this? She no longer has an anchor at home. Next season is going to be very difficult for me to continue watching the show simply because I loved the idea of a happily married couple on TV—something we don't see a lot of. Now she is going to be a grieving widow and the writers are going to throw would be beaus at us right and left. They better not just start the season off with her getting over her grief and moving on already, because I think as an audience we need to see that and go through that with her. We'll have to see. I'll miss the first part of the season b/c I'll be overseas from late August till early December for a Semester at Sea. Maybe by then I'll be over television shows in general. One can hope, because I spend way too much time watching TV as it is. **

**Since I love Chris Kane—his music too—he is not going to die in my fic. I believe the producers of the show killed his character so that Finnigan's character would have more flexibility with what she does and does not do. I think this is the easy way to try to save a show they were surprised did not do as well as they thought it would. Now it's going to be like any other show out there with a leading lady—some new guy will come into the scene and blah blah blah DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA! EX: look how long the writers of friends were able to play with the fans of Ross/Rachel. No more! I'm sick of there not being any happily married couples on TV. This rant was longer than I intended….onto the fic. **

**Chapter Three**

"Jack?"

"Jack?"

Annabeth entered the house cautiously. It was unusual for the house to be this dark when she got home from work. Normally—especially after that whole rape case—the house was glowing. After flicking on the light in the foyer and setting her bags and jacket in the closet, Annabeth made her way through her house.

"Jack?" she called out once again.

"In here honey," he replied.

Holding in a sigh of relief, Annabeth followed his voice into the dining room, where the table had been set and lit for a romantic dinner for two.

"What's this?" she asked with a wide grin on her face. When she reached him, he bent down to place a gentle kiss on her lips.

Resting his hands on her hips, he said, "I thought it had been a while since we had been on a date, so I opened Restaurant Chase for the night."

"Mmm…did you?" she asked, rapping her arms around his neck and giving him another gentle kiss in response. "You're a dream, you know that, right?"

"Damn straight, baby," he said while holding her to him. "Why don't you go freshen up and I'll finish getting dinner ready.

Annabeth nodded her head in agreement and giggled when she received a playful smack on her backside as she turned toward their bedroom.

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"So, any bad guys living in our neighborhood or threatening my family that I should know about?"

Annabeth let out a small chuckle, smiling she answered, "No, baby, you can leave your cape in the closet for the night." Silently she was thinking that she wouldn't tell him even if there was. With that thought in mind Annabeth quickly changed the subject; "did you talk to Mac today? Is he coming to visit this weekend?

"Yes," answered Jack as he took another bite of chicken, "he and Diane are bringing Kyle and Russ. Mac told me to prepare you for a night out with just the grown ups because they're bringing a sitter with them."

Annabeth looked up quickly at this, "What? Y-you didn't agree with this plan though, right?"

"Baby, Mac assures me that their sitter, Emily, is perfectly capable of watching the kids. She's been watching the boys since they were babies too and will be visiting family while she's here."

"But one sitter for three kids? She'll be out numbered."

"Mac's kids will probably spend the whole time in front of the television and Haley's just a baby, she doesn't need a lot of attention just a watchful eye and a clean diaper. And Kyle says that he'll help because he's 'a big boy and helps with his little brother all the time.'"

Seeing how much both Mac and her husband had planned this out, Annabeth cautiously agreed, "Okay, I surrender, but I get to call home and check in as much as I want."

Jack smiled and let out a laugh while nodding his head in agreement.

After dinner they moved into the living room to play with Haley for a while. If they didn't, they knew she wouldn't sleep through the night. After giving Haley her bath and putting her to bed, Jack picked up Annabeth and carried her to their room.

"You've been carrying me around a lot lately," she pointed out.

"You don't seem to mind," he said while laying her down on their bed. He planted a kiss on her lips then her cheeks until he was placing soft, sucking kisses to her neck.

"Hey," Annabeth moaned, running her fingers through his thick hair. "No hickies on my neck. Too hard to hide."

"Who says I want you to hide them," Jack mumbled, "they're supposed to let people know you belong to me."

Annabeth didn't even bother to respond to his possessiveness as Jack moved lower down her body and stripped her of her clothing at the same time.

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She is beautiful he thought to himself. He had noticed it before, but after watching her with her husband last night, he knew he had to have her for himself. He had imagined it was his hands on her body while she moaned and cried out. Of course in his fantasy, the bitch wasn't crying out in pleasure but screaming in pain and begging for forgiveness. But he wouldn't stop, not until he had broken her. And in breaking her, he would get back at the entire DA office. Two birds. One stone. Dead birdies. He was starting to wonder whether he should take the entire family. He could threaten to hurt the baby if she didn't do what he told her to do. He wouldn't actually hurt the baby, that wasn't his thing. But the bitch didn't know that, did she? He let out a sigh. This was going to need some more planning. And he was going to need help. He was sure some his buddies from jail wouldn't mind helping him get revenge on a bitch in the DA's office.


	4. MIA

**WHATEVER IT TAKES**

Disclaimer: The characters are from the show close to home, they are not mine! I wish they were!

Rating: pretty tame chapter really.

ME WANTS MORE REVIEWS!

**CHAPTER THREE **

Maureen entered Steve's office, looking concerned. "Steve, have you seen Annabeth this morning?"

"No, why?" asked Steve looking up from his computer.

"Well, she hasn't called in and she hasn't been to her office yet. And," she looked at her watch, "it's almost—"

"8:30," Steve said, "Did you try calling home or maybe her husband?"

"Yes," Maureen answered, no one picked up at the house or on her cell and Jack said he left the house before her."

"Was she going to drop Haley off at day care? We could try to call there, see if she made it that far," reasoned Steve.

"Well it's a start. I just have this really bad feeling for some reason."

Steve went to a file cabinet and pulled out Annabeth's employee file. He flicked through it for a minute until he found a page of numbers that included the one to Haley's day care. Maureen sat in a chair opposite Steve's desk and watched him work, thinking all the while that this was really nothing and that this feeling of dread would go away.

After dialing the number, Steve brought the phone up to his ear. "Hi, this is Steve Rosenberg from the District Attorney's office, I work with Annabeth Chase. Has Haley Chase been dropped off at day care yet?"

Pause.

"Ok, thank you. Yes, we'll check on them." Steve put the phone down. "She said that Annabeth still hasn't dropped Haley off and she didn't call in and say that she was sick or anything. They haven't been able to reach her anywhere either."

The both looked at each other for a moment, each wondering how to handle the situation. There was always the possibility that Annabeth simply had car trouble and forgot her cell phone. Then there was the possibility that something had happened. You didn't work in the DA's office every day and not get a little paranoid.

"Let's see if we can get Lou to drive over to her house. Just to check. It wouldn't hurt," conceded Steve.

"I'll go ask him," said Maureen, getting up from her seat.

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Maureen and Lou pulled up to Annabeth's house and were anxious to see that her car was still parked in the drive way.

"This doesn't feel right," stated Lou simply. He had worked a lot of cases, been on the job for many years, and he knew when something was off.

They walked to the door and Maureen rang the door bell. After a minute or so of waiting Maureen tried the handle and found that the door unlocked. Maureen and Lou looked at each other and Lou reached back and placed his hand on the gun in its holster just in case. Signaling Maureen to wait outside, he cautiously entered the house.

"Annabeth!" he called out. The name echoed through the house, but received no answer. He entered the house even further, his senses on full alert. He reached the kitchen and walked around the island and his heart sank at what he found on the floor.

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MUWAHAHAHAHA! I know I know, but I really need to go and do some real work for a test I have tonight. And I need to get on the treadmill, but I wanted to give BlackTulip and NightMage something else! Thanks for the reviews, they really do make me want to write more!


	5. Taken

**WHATEVER IT TAKES**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters from close to home. **

**Rating: tame chapter in my POV**

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Jack threw the car door open and raced toward the yellow "crime scene" banner. Ducking under the tape, ignoring the police trying to stop, he ran to Steve and Maureen.

"What happened," he panted, "what—where is she!"

When neither Steve nor Maureen could give him a quick enough answer, he darted inside the house. Police and crime scene guys alike yelled at him to get out, but he refused. Frantically he looked around, searching for anything that would tell him where his family was. He made it to the living room until police got a hold of him and dragged him out of the house. After forcing him into the back of a locked patrol car, Steve had them drive him to the DA's.

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Steve entered the conference room where Jack sat at the large table with his head in his hands. It was noon and still they hadn't heard from Annabeth or any kidnappers.

"I need to show you some photos that we took at your house."

Jack looked up, nodding his head. Steve sat down next to him with a file in hand, "All I need you to do is look at the photos and tell me if anything is different then when you left home this morning. It may help us find out when she went missing."

The first few photos were of the living room where nothing appeared different, but then he reached the pictures of the kitchen. Annabeth's purse and favorite coffee mug were scattered all over the floor, the coffee making all of her belongings look shiny and brown.

Looking over the pictures in the kitchen, he spoke up, "I, um, I think she was just about to leave."

"Okay, what makes you say that?"

"The coffee pot in the sink. She always sets it in the sink and fills it with water right before she leaves the house. And the newspaper article on the fridge. I haven't actually read the paper in years, but whenever she thinks there is something I would find worth knowing, she leaves the clip on the fridge under the magnet shaped like a light bulb for me to read. When I left, that wasn't up there and I told her that 'if she didn't stop reading, she was going to be late for work.'" Jack said all of this very quietly and slowly, as if it was all a distant memory, never to be repeated again. Steve finished writing down the information on a notepad, hoping it would give them something.

"Anything else?" Steve asked after he had finished writing.

Jack was looking at the pictures of Haley's nursery with a pained expression. When he saw Haley's crib a look of alarm crossed his face.

"Haley's blanky and bunny are still there," he said quickly as if this was something huge.

Steve looked at Jack with an expression of confusion on his face.

"Whenever we take Haley out anywhere—the park, day care—anywhere, we always bring her blanky and her bunny with her. Annabeth wants her to have, you know, 'the toys that you got when you were born that you have forever' kind of thing. She wouldn't pick Haley up out of her crib or anything without grabbing those two things."

"So you're saying that some one else picked Haley up?" Steve asked.

"I don't know what I'm saying. I'm just pointing out what seems strange to me," reasoned Jack shaking his head. "And there's one last thing that's throwing me off."

Steve nodded for him to continue.

"I know Annabeth better than anyone in this world. If some one tried to take her against her will, I know she would put up a fight. But when I look at these pictures, except for the kitchen, everything is in order. No broken lamps. No tables or chairs are knocked over. She didn't run from anyone. Nothing. Why would she just go with some one?"

Steve thought for a minute and then looked up, "I think you've already answered that question." At Jacks questioning look, Steve explained, "You already said you think some one else picked up Haley. What if they came into the kitchen holding Haley? Right when she was getting ready to leave?"

Jack's eyes widened in horror at this realization, "she would do whatever or go wherever they wanted. And she would also drop anything she was carrying at the time…"

"Like, say, her coffee mug and purse?" Steve finished for him.

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After placing the clip about the cost of real estate going up on the fridge, Annabeth turned and grabbed her purse, not bothering to zip it, in one hand. Then she picked up her coffee mug in the other. She started walking out of the kitchen, but when she looked up, what she saw caused her to freeze in place as all feeling left her body.

A man was standing in the door way to the kitchen. In one arm, he held her precious baby girl. And in the other hand, he held a large, vicious looking knife. He placed the blade of the knife over his lips as if to say, "not a sound." Annabeth vaguely registered the sound of her purse crashing to the floor, all of her stuff falling out and mixing with the now broken mug and its coffee.

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Please please please R&R! thank you to everyone who has so far! I luv u all! I'll thank you individually next chapter I promise!

And that whole light bulb shaped magnet thing with the newspaper clip is something my parents did with my sister and me. Whenever there was something in the paper they thought was particularly educational or interesting they would stick it on the fridge under the light bulb hoping it would make us think or spark our interest in something. It sort of worked : )


	6. What Happened

**WHATEVER IT TAKES**

Disclaimer: Don't own any of the characters depicted from the show Close to Home. Jason and Gage are mine though.

Rating: some dark shit in this chapter. Oh and language. Hehehe

**AN: THANKS to those of you who have reviewed my work! It really makes me think more about the story and keeps my muse going! Thanks to: NightMage, Black Tulip, twentyninpearls, scrawn, sweetgirl769, and Abby909 for your reviews. I am trying to make this as creepy and realistic as possible! It makes it more fun for me to write this way! Keep reviewing and hopefully I'll be able to keep updating like I am!**

**CHAPTER SIX**

Brian Ford sat back in his recliner and took a swig of his beer. The look of terror on her face had been even better than he thought it would be.

He had hooked up with his old celly's brother. Gage had been quick to agree to help, eager for a little revenge against the bitch that put his brother away. And Gage's friend Jason, who was no stranger to committing felonies, agreed to help them. The only problem they had was agreeing on a motive behind the kidnapping.

Gage and Ford were only in it for revenge. They had nothing to lose. They knew that as soon as it was over they would go to jail, but first they were going to have some fun. Jason, on the other hand, had avoided jail all his life, and had no intention of changing that. He wanted money, simple as that. Ford hadn't really expected to communicate at all with the DA's office until the very end when they dumped Annabeth on the side of the road somewhere. But this added a new challenge to their quest. How to communicate with the good guys without letting them know where we are?

They left the kidnapping itself to the pro. Jason said he would simply scout out her house and then, when the opportunity showed itself, he would take it. That opportunity came sooner than they thought it would.

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The night before, Jason had watched through a window in her house as Annabeth punched in the security code and he had found where they kept a spare key outside. "For some one who works in the DA's, she isn't all that bright," Jason had thought to himself. All he had to do now was look for a moment when the husband was gone and she was his.

Sure enough, this morning, Jason had called and said that the husband had left, should he make his move, or wait for another opportunity? They agreed over the phone to go ahead with it and waited to hear back from Jason.

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Jason had a lot of things working for him when it came to this line of work. He had thick, yellow, wavy hair and a charming smile. From far away he looked like an all American athlete—the kind that would carry a little old woman's groceries for her, or rescue kittens that were stuck in trees. It wasn't until you were face to face with him that you got a bad feeling. His eyes were stone cold. In them you could see the faces of all of his victims. You could feel the evil radiating out from his soul like a disease—a disease of fear that takes hold of the weak and destroys them should they try to interfere with his plans. In short, Jason is the type man that Annabeth fears the most.

Out there in the world, there are a few serial killers, rapists, or criminals that are smart enough to avoid the law. They blend well, they don't stick to any sort of pattern, they're intelligent, and they know how to avoid leaving pieces of themselves behind. Jason is one of those men. And kidnapping, instilling fear in others, is his specialty.

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Jason watched with a tight smirk on his face as the girl tried to figure out what to do. She had dropped all of her shit to floor, but that didn't matter. Soon, it would be painfully obvious that she was missing. It didn't matter if her crap was in immaculate condition or not.

For a moment he was afraid she might pass out, instead she licked her lips and steadied herself with one hand on the counter before whispering, "w-what do you want?"

Her wide eyes were fixed on the baby and the large knife in his hand. He had always loved this knife. It came to almost a needle thin point at the end and was curved, in his opinion at least, very elegantly and beautifully. This was not just any ordinary knife. It was a tool used by artists.

"You're going to do everything I tell you to do, exactly as I tell you to do it," he stated simply in a cool and collected voice. "Do you understand?"

Unable to speak and barely able to see through the tears in her eyes, Annabeth nodded her head, while biting on her lower lip to keep it from trembling. She gripped the countertop harder in the hand to keep herself from falling to her knees.

"First, you're going to stop crying."

Annabeth lowered her head with a slight sob as a few thick tears finally spilled from her eyes. Taking a deep, gasping breath she wiped her face and looked back up at him.

Jason rolled his eyes. Women were always so emotional when it came to their kids. Little brats. If he had one, he'd beg for some one to take it away. "Tell you what, if I were to put this knife away, would you still do what I told you to do?"

Annabeth nodded her head quickly.

"You wouldn't try to grab the knife or your baby, will you?"

Once again she shook her head, only this time in the negative. She had no intention of doing anything that may get her baby hurt.

"Then we'll get along just fine," he stated, almost soothingly.

"Here's what we're going to do," he started placing the knife in its sheath under his jacket. "We're going to walk outside like good friends. Siblings even. And we're going to get into my car. Then I'll hand you you're baby and we're going to go on a trip." He took a step towards her and continued, "If I think for a moment that you're going to try to run or get help, then I won't hesitate for one second to pull out my weapon of choice and kill both of you…even if some one is standing right in front of us." An evil smile crossed his handsome features, "Trust me when I say that I've done it before."

Annabeth nodded quickly, agreeing with everything that he said. She would do anything he said if it meant being able to hold her baby safely in her arms.

They made it to his car without incident and when she was seated in the back seat of a dark blue van he finally passed Haley to her.

She quickly accepted Haley in her arms and backed away from the man, seating herself further into the car. After he slammed the door shut and was seated in the front seat, he started the car and they were off.

Annabeth watched him as he drove. He didn't speed. He stopped at stop signs. He even sang along with the radio. He made one call to some one saying, "I got 'em." He looked absolutely calm and under control. It terrified her.

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They arrived at a house in the middle of no where, of course. Annabeth knew that by now people would be looking for her and it gave her a detached, light headed sort of feeling.

By the time the car had pulled to a stop and the man had opened the back door, Annabeth had started to think that maybe she had made the wrong decision by complying with this guy.

Seeing her indecision, he grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the car and held her against him. "I wouldn't choose now to become brave, girly. You know there is no one around to help you. Try something even once and I'll separate you and the kid. And there's no one else here who is going to take care of it."

Shaking her head in acceptance, Annabeth let him lead her to the front of the house. He threw open the door and shoved her inside ahead of him.

Catching herself, Annabeth looked around the inside of the home. She spotted some one sitting in the recliner in the living room and paused to look at him. When he turned to look at her, she backed up into a wall and finally let out the scream of terror she had been holding in this whole time.

It was Brian Ford.

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Okay, things are going to slow down a bit here to let the story last a bit longer. Please feel free to give me any editing advice. I don't have a beta and would really like to know if you think the story is or is not flowing well… I am writing as an idea comes to me and keep worrying that I'll think of something better after I've posted a chapter so look out for rewrites of chapters! Chapter five feels a bit weak to me, so let me know if you think of anything that could make it stronger. I had a hard time writing Jack because he wasn't shown very much on the show, so it's hard to figure out what he would say and what would happen if some one from the DA actually went missing. Any help WANTED!


	7. The Package

**WHATEVER IT TAKES- CHAPTER 7**

Disclaimer: Don't own any of the characters depicted from the show Close to Home. Jason and Gage are mine though.

Rating: M? Right some dark shit in this chapter. Oh and language. Hehehe

AN: I'm officially traveling abroad. Therefore, if you want updates, then you have to tell me about what's happening in the show every now and then just to keep me updated. I want to how Annabeth's doing. And what role new characters are playing. And if they've made the show more about the whole caste and less about Annabeth like Cold Case or something. Don't worry about spoilers. Tell me everything. I know the show premiered in the US so u all have to tell me wat happened.

That's all for now. I'll have scattered access to the internet, but I'll be here so give me suggestions about where you want this to go. You guys are in charge of keeping my muse going.

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Steve sat in one of the larger conference rooms. A picture of Annabeth and Haley was taped to the dry erase board and notes had been scribbled here and there across its glossy surface. Trying to create a timeline. Trying to find motive. Trying to find who. They were trying to find a lot of things, but none of them seemed to be working out. Annabeth had prosecuted a lot of cases; put a lot of people away. Any number of people could have wanted to take her.

He let out a long sigh and put his head in his hands. This was a place he had never wanted to be in. One of his own taken. The FBI had been called in and until more information was forthcoming, it was going to be assumed that this was a political kidnapping. But then why take Haley? True Annabeth would be more cooperative, but she'd also be less cooperative in a way. If it was a true political kidnapping, all they would want was Annabeth. She was all they would need. He stood up and walked to the door. He paused to look at the photo on the wall and made a silent vow to bring her back.

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Annabeth was sitting on the mattress in the corner of the room. She didn't know what scared her more, Brian Ford or the pile of diapers in the corner of the room. They were the same brand and even pattern that she buys for Haley. Not to mention, there were a lot of them. They had planned this.

She hadn't wanted to, but she had taken off her jacket. It was hot in the room, but some how taking off the jacket to her suit made her feel more vulnerable. Haley slept beside her on the mattress. Annabeth wasn't sure how to protect her. Brian Ford raped women. This fact kept going over and over in her head. She had always vowed that if she was ever in a situation like that she would fight as hard as she could, but what if they threatened her daughter. Should she just accept it? She didn't know if she could do that. It went against her very nature.

She hadn't seen either of her kidnappers since this morning and the strain on her nerves was leaving her feeling drained. She lay down and curled herself around Haley, making sure not to crush her. Sleep claimed her quickly after resting her head on her arm.

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Some one was touching her. They were moving her hair off her face. Jack liked to play with her hair; it was one of the reasons that she didn't cut it. The thought of Jack caused her to wake up in a rush, but when she turned her head, it wasn't her husband. It was Brian Ford.

Somehow she managed not to scream as her nightmare came flooding back to her. She tried to move herself and Haley to the other side of the mattress, but he grabbed her arms and moved her to the edge of the bed closest to him.

"NO!" she struggled, "NO!"

"I've been imagining this since I laid eyes on you, _Miss_ Chase," he panted struggling to keep her arms still, while climbing on top of her.

Haley's startled cries combined with Annabeth's as she tried to buck him off of her.

"Get off her," a commanding voice said from the door.

Ford paused and looked at Jason, "What?!"

"Not now," Jason said quietly, but deadly.

"Fuck you!" he said tightening his hold on Annabeth's neck, "this bitch has had this coming her way for too long! She wanted me to be a rapist and now she's going to see me in action!"

Ford reached down for his belt buckle, but was pulled off Annabeth and thrown across the room.

Annabeth scrambled back up the mattress and took hold of Haley, who was still crying.

Ford looked enraged.

"This is MY call!"

"Go find a whore you can stick and stir and let me take care of business here. You're going to screw everything up," Jason ordered.

Ford stormed out of the room seething.

Jason turned to Annabeth who was clutching Haley to her chest at the top of the bed.

Annabeth looked up at him, half panting half crying.

"I saved you from him girlie, but now I've got some business with you."

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"Steve," Maureen called out while rushing toward him, "something just came in through a courier service. It's something to do with Annabeth."

"What is it?!" Steve practically yelled.

"I'm not sure, pictures or something," Maureen hastened leading him to the police headquarters where the envelope had been dropped off, "I was just heading back here when I got the call from Lou."

Together they made their way to the adjoining building full of cubicles, police, and FBI running all over the place.

Steve headed straight for Special Agent Anderson and asked, "What came in? Is she okay?"

"Hang on Steve," Matt Anderson said, holding his hands up. "We're waiting for my guys to okay the package and then we'll see what's inside."

The few minutes it took to scan the package felt like hours to Maureen and Steve. It had been a long, sleepless 30 hours waiting for news on Annabeth and Haley.

When one of the CSI guys okayed the package another came up and carefully sliced it open and revealed a tape.

"Lets get a VCR in here!" ordered Agent Anderson.

A few officers pulled one in and everybody readied themselves as the tape was pushed into the VCR.

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Annabeth looked up at Jason wearily. What did he mean by business? She watched as he put on gloves and pulled down the sleeves of his black shirt.

"What are you going to do?" She asked surprised at how strong her voice sounded.

"Well," said Jason as if he was talking to buddy of his, "I need to send a message to your friends over at the DA's office. And unfortunately for you, I have found, from experience, that people don't take my demands seriously if the person on the video looks too pretty."

"What do you mean?" she said warily as he started getting closer to her.

"Don't worry, girlie, it won't be that bad…for now anyway. We can't go too far too quickly."

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At first all that was shown was a dusty, dirty, white wall.

After a few minutes, when the muted sounds of a baby crying could be heard, everybody tensed. For about five minutes all that could be heard was the thumping and moaning of two people fighting. Finally, a door opened somewhere off screen and a few voices could be heard.

One of them was a woman's, Annabeth's, and she was panting. Another was Haley's as the sound of her crying increased in volume for a second before the door was slammed shut again. And the third was a man's as he forced Annabeth into the room.

"NO!" Annabeth suddenly screamed, "don't separate us!"

"Shut up!" came the male voice sounding scratchy and inhuman. He shoved her into the wall on the opposite side of the room.

Suddenly Annabeth appeared on screen and everybody jumped as she hit the wall and then slowly sunk to the floor. Head down and holding her ribs, she tried to catch her breathe.

"Please, don't separate us"

"I said, SHUT UP" the scratchy voice ordered from off camera. He threw a card at her and ordered, "Read this."

Annabeth looked down at the card and back up at him with puzzled look on her face. She looked around the room and they got their first good look at her face.

Maureen placed her hands over her mouth as she took in Annabeth's split lip and blackening face. Her blouse was torn and the fingers of the hand that was holding her torso were bleeding.

For the first time Annabeth looked directly at the camera. Her eyes widened in realization and she backed up into the wall. She looked down at the card and back at the man no one could see and firmly said, "no."

"Read it." He ordered again.

Chin set firmly and face down to the camera, Annabeth shook her head no.

The man seemed to growl in irritation and they watched Annabeth follow his path to the camera as he put something over the lens. Maureen and Steve closed their eyes when they heard a thump and Annabeth's stifled moan of pain. He said something to her in a lowered, angry voice that no one could understand.

After almost another minute Annabeth appeared again on the screen, resting her forehead on the floor while holding her chest. Coughing, she sat up with her hair in her face but still shaking her head no.

"You won't see her again until you do."

"Bastard," she whispered more to herself than at him.

Calming and finally catching her breathe, Annabeth scowled at the man. She picked up the card with the hand that wasn't holding her chest and leaned back painfully against the wall. She read the card over first before looking up at him again and stating, "How original."

"READ IT!" he yelled at her.

She didn't even flinch, but lowered her head and let out a little smirk. Looking up directly at the camera with a determined look on her face she finally began to read the card.

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So tell me…wat do you think? Where should the story go? I'm trying to be realistic, but um I've never been kidnapped by a homicidal maniac….so I guess I'm at a disadvantage. Nah…doesn't sound like a disadvantage to me ;)


	8. Thinking

**Chapter 8**

**Disclaimer**: I don't own any of the characters depicted from the TV show "Close to Home." And I'm not making any money off of this….yeeeah.

**Summary**: Er eh uh…Annabeth becomes the unwilling victim of a group of men who decide to get revenge the only way they know how—through violence.

**Rating: **I don't know. I think T, but tell me if you think I should make it M.

**Distribution: **Eh….nowhere else but here.

Annabeth carefully wrapped part of an unused diaper around the flat end of a piece of glass. It was part of the remnants of a picture that hung on the wall in the same room they had put her in yesterday. Yes, Jason was smart. She could tell he had done this before. But that could make him arrogant. He was so sure in every calculated move he made and that same confidence was going to be his undoing. Every time he overlooked something, she had to be the one to notice it.

His voice would be heard on that video Annabeth's colleagues were about to receive. He might have altered it, but it was still his vocal cords. And after he had covered the lens of the camera, he had used his real voice. She knew they would be able to turn up the audio on and hear what he was saying to her in his natural tone.

It had been more than 30 hours since she and Haley had been kidnapped. And her captors had not fed her. She could feel her adrenal waning from the lack of nutrition. She would give anything at that moment for a piece of fruit. She needed something sugary. She was worried that she wouldn't be able to breast feed Haley for much longer unless she had some fluids soon.

Using the sticky waistband on the diaper, she finished fixing the padding to the end of the shard of glass and looked for a place to hide it. She couldn't keep it on her, but she had to be able to get to it during a fight. She looked to the only piece of furniture in the room. The bed Brian Ford had tried to rape her on. He was going to try again she thought with an increasing sense of dread. He would have this morning if Jason hadn't stopped him. He would have done it in front of Haley.

She paused in the middle of her thinking to watch Haley amuse herself as only children could do. Haley kept hoisting herself on to her little feet, walk a few steps towards her mother and fall on her diapered bottom to the floor only to crawl back to the bed and try again. The only blessing Annabeth could find in all of this was that Haley was so young. When they got out of this mess, she wouldn't remember it. She wasn't sure how she and Jack would tell her about it, but she wouldn't have first hand memories of it.

Sliding closer to the bed, Annabeth took a hold of Haley before she could fall again and examined the bed frame. It was made out of thick metal, the white paint was chipped and rusting at some parts. The mattress, thank God, actually looked new was left bare. Settling Haley on her lap, where the infant started tugging with mom's hair, Annabeth ran her hands over the mattress and then slid her hands under it. If she put the "knife" under the mattress she might break it when she was on top of it. She slid her hands under the bed and metal frame and felt a little groove go all around the side of the bed. Moving closer to the head of the bed, she felt the groove continue around it.

Imagining her position on the bed she placed the piece of galls in the groove with the pointed end pointing toward the head of the bed. She would lay as close to the edge as possible and would be able to reach under, grab the padded end in her fist, and then…well, do what she had to do.

Dislodging Haley's grip on her hair, Annabeth stood and lay down on the bed. Testing her placement of her knife, she ran through the motion to see if it would work. After deciding it would have to do for now. She wrapped her jacket around Haley and decided to try to get some sleep. Any way she could get energy was useful.

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AN: okay, I know this is short, but I wanted to add a piece showing Annabeth trying to figure things out for herself instead of just being a damsel in distress (DID). I'm back from studying abroad and am slowly working out what will happen next in my head. I know I've said this before, but I really do want this to be as true to life as possible without just copying how TV handles hostage/kidnappings. So I'm trying to think of a unique rescue or whatever that isn't simply "the drop off went well and we followed the bad guys to their layer and we rescued the DID and her baby." Can we say BORing?

So with this in mind—tell me what ur thinking and thank you to all of you who posted reviews!! Including, but not limited to—NightMage, Scrawn, Black Tulip, and Liason101!

Oh—big note—I don't know how old babies are when they start to walk and I don't even know how old Haley is in this episode or the real episode with Brian Ford anyway. All I know is, I used to do that when I was a babe and that more likely than not—she's prob too young in that episode bc I'm that lucky. I just couldn't think of anything else for Haley to be doing in a room with no toys and the only piece of furniture is a bed. She cant just sleep for 30 hours in a row.


	9. 30 Hours Missing

**Chapter 9**

**Disclaimer: Don't own the characters from Close to Home, but I did throw in some fictional ones. **

**Rating: deals with hostage situation, mistreatment of said hostage, and language…think to yourself "am I old enough" and figure it out on ur own. It might be a growing experience for you. **

**Distribution: only here**

**AN: This chapter goes out to Black Tulip and Nicolekidmanisperfect! Your emails made me finally put down on "paper" wat I've been thinking and brainstorming about for WEEKS and I think I might even know where I'm going now. So here ya go! Glad to feed the addiction! **

Mac ran into the District Attorney's office as fast as he could after getting out of the taxi. As soon as Jack had called him, he had hopped on the first plane out of Tennessee. He still wasn't completely sure about what was going on. Annabeth was missing? And by some one she locked up!? Can't they protect the lawyers they have working for them?

The minute he passed through the metal detectors he felt the air change. Suddenly, a weight had settled upon him. The tension was suffocating.

He turned back to the security guard and asked, "Do you know where I can find Jack Chase?"

The guard looked at him for a second before responding, "did you say Chase?"

At Mac's nod, the guard picked up his walkie talkie and said something into it.

After a few minutes an intern came rushing up to him, "you're looking for Mr. Chase?"

"Yes," Mac answered quickly, "I'm a friend. He called me yesterday night and I told him I would fly in as soon as I could."

The young worker nodded quickly, "I'll take you to him, I think he's in Miss Chase's office." He started walking quickly down the hall and Mac followed. "I'm Danny, if you need anything let me know. Everybody's working really hard trying to find a lead, but I was told to tell you to try to get Mr. Chase into a hotel room tonight and maybe some food in him. We're reaching almost 35 hours missing and he hasn't left this building since the beginning. Well, no one has really."

Mac nodded as they reached an office and he looked in to see Jack sitting a chair with his head back and his eyes closed. Looking back at Danny he said, "Okay, thanks. I'll see what I can do."

After Danny left, Mac slowly opened the door to her office. If Jack was asleep, he didn't want to wake him up. But his decision was made for him when Jack suddenly lifted his head and bolted up from his chair.

"What's happening? Did you find her?" he exclaimed as he rushed over to the door. It took a few seconds for his eyes to focus on who he was talking to, but then threw his arms around Mac's shoulders.

Mac hugged him back while saying, "don't worry, man, they'll find her, okay? They'll find her."

"God, Mac," breathed Jack, "th-they, God, they have to find her. I-I can't live without them. Their my family. My world."

"Hey," Mac replied calmly, "from the looks of it the whole bureau is in town looking for her. And after they find your family, they are really going to need you. So, you need to take care of yourself. Come on why don't you come over to my hotel with me and get some sleep, maybe some food."

Jack shook his head irritably, "No, NO, nonono. I'm not going anywhere unless it leads to Annabeth and Haley. As soon as they know something, I want to hear about it."

"I'll give them my cell phone number, kay? Come on, it's fully charged. We can tell them to call me the minute new info comes in."

Jack walked further into the office, while running his fingers through his hair. He was torn between what Mac was saying and what he had been telling himself from the start. When he had sworn to himself that he would stay in this building until they found her, he had been sure that she would be found immediately. But now it had been a day and still nothing. Nothing. A whole day. More than a day.

"Please listen to him, Jack."

Jack turned to face the door where Steve had appeared.

"I've got a fresh team of forensic experts going over your house right now looking for new evidence. I'll call you the second we find something."

Steve looked back and forth between Mac and Steve, "the second you hear anything, you'll call me."

"I will," Steve confirmed.

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Annabeth sat against the wall beside the bed examining her fingers. She was missing a fingernail on her right hand and part of it was still attached to her fingertip. She needed scissors. Hell, she needed a lot of things right now. Food was foremost on her mind before scissors.

There was a bathroom with a shower attached to the room she was in, but she was not about to get naked with the possibility of Brian Ford barging in on her. She had given Haley a bath earlier, but couldn't do that with her hands in the state they were in.

There was a noise at the door that caused her to look up suddenly and she reached around Haley and pulled her closer. The door unlocked and was awkwardly pushed open by Jason who was carrying a small load of items in his arms. The first thing that Annabeth noticed or smelled was food.

"Thank God," she thought to herself, but tried not to show her relief on the outside. Normally, she might not eat it out of fear that they may have done something to it, but she wasn't about to let that stop her now.

"Ah, God DAMN IT!" Jason had just stepped on small pieces of glass that had scattered across the floor from the picture falling off the wall. "Shit," he mumbled under his breathe.

Tumbling the items on to the end of the bed, he turned to find the source of the glass against the wall and noticed the larger pieces of glass surrounding the frame.

He turned on Annabeth, "Did you notice this!" he snarled at her.

Annabeth had been expecting this and had her reaction ready. She looked at him and at the wall completely dumbstruck.

"Notice what?"

"The glass, you bitch, you have a piece of it on you right now, don't you?"

She looked at him wide mouthed, as if the idea never occurred to her, "NO!"

Jason charged at her and she pushed her self against the wall. He grabbed for Haley, who immediately vocalized her objection at being picked up by a stranger and none-to-gently placed on the bed before he grabbed Annabeth.

Annabeth cried out as her broken nail caught on his sleeve when he took hold of her upper arms. He shook her violently, which caused her to hit her head on the wall a few times.

"TELL ME THE TRUTH!" He screamed after he stopped shaking her.

"I-I don't have anything!" Annabeth half pleaded, half sobbed. "I d-don't. Please."

Jason snarled and let go of her and ran his hands over the rest of her body, looking for the weapon that he was sure she would be hiding somewhere.

"It would be easier if you just stripped her," snarled a voice from the doorway.

"NO!" Annabeth yelped.

Jason turned angrily on the intruder, "I told you to get out of here, Brian."

"I'm waiting for my turn," spat Brian.

"And you'll get it. After I get my money. I'm the one doing all the damn work around here, while you and that pussy get drunk."

Brian stood against the door jam for a second before Jason told him to go get a broom and clean up the glass.

He turned back to Annabeth who was partially breathing hysterically and partially crying.

"Get up," he ordered. When she hesitated he grabbed her right arm and yanked her to her feet. She cried out and he looked at her hand. Holding it up, he noticed her nail and let go of her arm dismissively and she curled it protectively against her stomach.

He looked at her carefully. Her blouse and dress pants were formfitting as opposed to baggy and there weren't a lot of places where you could just keep a sharp piece of glass.

Annabeth let out a scared gasp when he took her arms and placed them at her sides. She kept her eyes closed and her teeth clenched while he looked over her. She flinched slightly when he ran his hands down her sides and he turned her around and felt the waistband of her pants. Her face burned slightly in anger and humiliation, but she didn't move to stop him. Instead, she focused on the package of food sitting a few feet away. After lifting up the ankle of her pants and checking there, he stepped back.

Hesitantly, she opened her eyes. He still looked angry, but more with himself than at her. Another man was now picking up the glass with Brian and Jason turned to the items at the end of the bed.

"There are a few burgers in there and some other food he said throwing the paper bag toward the head of the bed. First aid kit should clean up your hand and…what the hell is this?" He said turning to the man she didn't know.

He shrugged, "I got a kid too."

Jason rolled his eyes and threw the few toys back on to the bed. "And here are some clothes I want you to put on."

"Why--," she started to ask before Jason cut her off, "Just do it for once. You keep pissing me off and pushing your luck. You WILL run out!"

She stood frozen still until all the men left the room. Afterward, she sat on the bed next to Haley, who had stopped crying and was watching her mom. She tore into the bag and took a huge bite out of one of the burgers. Despite her captivity and fear or maybe because of it, but Annabeth could have sworn that she had never tasted anything as good before.

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"Steve," said CSI Dave on the other line.

"Yeah, Dave I'm listening."

"We got the results back on the fingerprints found outside the master bedroom."

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**MUWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!HAHAHA!! OH that felt good to do that to y'all! ** Okay, I think I know wats goin to happen in the next chapter and I might have an idea of how Annabeth and Haley will be rescued so stay tune.


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